Collapsible sawhorse and tray

ABSTRACT

A collapsible sawhorse comprising a beam, leg-supporting brackets having downwardly diverging sides, said sides defining leg receiving channels, legs mounted pivotally in said channels for movement lateral to the beam, the brackets being pivotally mounted on the beam so that each bracket and the legs attached to it are movable in conjunction from a folded position contiguous and parallel to the beam to an extended position at substantially right angles to the beam. The legs of the sawhorse may be adapted to support a tray at about their vertical midpoints.

ignited States Patent I72] Inventor Bert A. Mueller 1821 W. OakdaleAve., Chicago, 111. 60657 [2]] Appl. No 48,112 [22] Filed June 22, 1970[45] Patented Aug. 17,1971

[54] COLLAPSIBLE SAWHORSE AND TRAY 4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 182/129, 182/155 [51] Int. Cl E04g 1/32, Fl6m 11/00 [50]Field of Search 182/155, 133, 186, 225, 226, 129; 108/132, 130

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,573,740 11/1951 Spiking182/155 3,016,104 1/1962 Johnson 182/155 3,198,286 8/1965 Wilson 182/1553,233,701 2/1966 Hentzi Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. MachadoAuorneyl-loward W. Bremer ABSTRACT: A collapsible sawhorse comprising abeam, legsupporting brackets having downwardly diverging sides, saidsides defining leg receiving channels, legs mounted pivotally in saidchannels for movement lateral to the beam, the brackets being pivotallymounted on the beam so that each bracket and the legs attached to it areprovable in conjunction from a folded position contiguous and parallelto the beam to an extended position at substantially right angles to thebeam. The legs of the sawhorse may be adapted to support a tray at abouttheir vertical midpoints.

PATENTEU AUG] 7 I971 SHEET 1 OF 2 m u m5 VU M A T R E B Mci.@mw

ATTORNEY COLLAPSIBLE SAWHORSE AND TRAY This invention relates tosawhorses.

More specifically this invention relates to sawhorses which arecollapsible and are adapted to support a tray.

An object of this invention is to provide a sawhorse with means forcollapsing the legs into an extremely compact form when not in use andwhich, when in its upright open position, is very stable, rigid andstrong.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shelf or tray which isremovably supported on the legs of the sawhorse and which will hold thecollapsed sawhorse in stacked relationship.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer tolike parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing the sawhorse in its openposition with a tray mounted on the legs.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of one end of the sawhorse wit the traydemounted.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the other end of the sawhorse showingthe tray in place.

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a sheet metal blank from whicheach bracket of the sawhorse is made, the broken lines showing where theblank is to be cut and bent to form the bracket.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a formed bracket, the broken linesshowing hidden edges.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the beam for the sawhorse.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the sawhorse in collapsed position.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the sawhorse in collapsed positionstacked in the tray.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the sawhorse in collapsed position stacked inthe tray.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 10 designates the beamof the sawhorse, which may be wood or other suitable material, supportedat each end upon a pair of legs 11. The legs are pivotally fastened at12 and 13 by a bolt or other suitable means in brackets 14 which, inturn, are pivotally fastened to beam 10 at 15 and 16 by a bolt or pin orthe like. The brackets 14, are preferably made from sheet metal althoughother materials, such as Fiberglass-reinforced polymers, would also besuitable. These brackets, as can be readily seen in FIG. 5, aresubstantially U-shaped when viewed from above and have wings l7 and 18through which they are pivotally fastened to the beam. The sides of thebrackets diverge downwardly and have inwardly turned flanges 19 whichwith the web 20, which connects the downwardly diverging sides, formsU-shaped channels which are each adapted to receive a leg. The flange 21abuts the beam 10 when the sawhorse is in an open position and helps toprovide a greater stability and rigidity to the sawhorse. In addition,when the pivotally mounted brackets and legs are swung to an openposition, flange 21 abuts beam 10 and acts as a stop to prevent thebracket and legs from pivoting further, the flat upper surface of theflange providing much more bearing surface than only the edge of web 20would provide if flange 21 was absent. In the absence of flange 21 theedge of web 20 would, upon repeated use of the sawhorse, bite into theundersurface of beam 10. The cutout 22 in bracket 14 is merely anexpedient to decrease the weight of the bracket. It can be other thancircular in shape or, if desired, the web 20 can be left intact with noportion cut out.

Legs 11, which are conveniently made from wood and are preferably l 4s,are mounted in the U-shap ed channels in bracket 14 so that they canmove laterally in relation to beam 10 from a position adjacent to and incontact with the downwardly diverging side of bracket 14 to a positionsubstantially vertical to the beam. The desired movement of the legs isin the direction of the arrows in FIGS. 2 and 3 which depict theposition of the legs in solid lines when the sawhorse is in fully openposition and in broken lines when the legs have been moved laterally tothe beam 10 preparatory to collapsing the sawhorse.

It is to be noted from F IGS. 2 and 3 that the legs at one end of thesawhorse are pivotally fastened in the U-shaped channels of the bracketnearer the top of the bracket and therefore closer to the beam 10 thanat the other end. Thus, in FIG. 2 it is apparent that the pivotalfastening 13 is nearer the top of the bracket than the pivotal fastening12 in FIG. 3, FIGS. 2 and 3 representing, respectively, each end of asawhorse. The purpose of such arrangement is to permit the four legs ofthe sawhorse, when it is in folded position, to nest together inparallel and contiguous relationship with the beam of the sawhorse andwith each other. The legs in folded relationship can be seen in FIG. 9.

If desired the sawhorse of this invention can be adapted to receive ademountable tray 23. The tray is preferably made of wood and comprisesside rails 24 and end rails 25 which are joined by brackets 26 havingwing portions dimensioned and angulated to lie flush against the insidefacing portions of the downwardly diverging legs as shown in FIG. 3. Thebrackets are shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 so that their relationshipto the sawhorse and tray can be readily ascertained. The end rails andside rails are fastened to the brackets by screws 27 or other suitablemeans. The wing portions of the brackets may have holes drilled in themwhich can be aligned with holes 28 in the legs. Removable fasteningmeans, such as a bolt with a wingnut, can be inserted through thealigned holes to more securely attach the tray to the sawhorse.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention thesawhorse is adapted to receive a tray by notching the legs as at 29 andfastening a plate 30 to the leg, by screws or other suitable means, withthe upper end of the plate extending above the lower end of the notch.The side rails of the tray 23 are dimensioned to lie in the same planeas the diverging legs and to abut the legs. A plate 31 is fastened tothe bottom of the side rails and extends beyond the leg-abutting end ofthe side rail, the extension having a downwardly turned portion 32. Whenthe tray is mounted on the sawhorse the extension of plate 31 protrudesinto notch 29 with the downwardly turned portion 32 extending over andengaging the portion of the leg-mounted plate 30 which extends intonotch 29. The tray is thus securely held by the legs of the sawhorse andserves to strengthen and stabilize the sawhorse and make it more rigid.If desired, additional fastening means may be inserted through holes 28in alignment with holes in the wing portions of brackets 26 to evenfurther strengthen the sawhorse and tray and increase its rigidity.

The tray is readily removed from the sawhorse and can be used to carrythe folded sawhorse as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 in nesting relationship.In such relationship the sawhorse is collapsed by swinging the legs andbrackets inwardly against the underside of the beam into a foldedposition as shown in FIG. 7 and is then turned upside down beforeplacing it in the tray so that flanges 21 will extend downwardly intothe tray and the nested combination of tray and sawhorse will beextremely compact.

It is to be understood that the sawhorse and tray are susceptible tomany alterations within the scope of the appended claims. For example,an additional top or plate, such as a piece of lumber, can be fastenedto the beam in overlapping relationship on all sides. In 'use such topor plate which is readily replaceable will be the element receivingdamage, saw cuts, gouges, etc., rather than the beam. Also, it may bedesirable to support a shelf rather than a tray on the legs of thesawhorse. In such instance the side rails and end rails as well as thebrackets fastening them together may be eliminated and the plate 31 maybe mounted directly on the bottom of the shelf. Other modificationswithin the spirit of the invention will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention what I claim is:

l. A collapsible sawhorse comprising:

a horizontal bear'n,

substantially U-shaped leg-supporting brackets pivotally secured to saidbeam at each end thereof, each of said brackets having downwardlydiverging sides connected by a web facing outwardly toward the beam endand inwardly turned flanges which in conjunction with the said 5 webdelineate a U-shaped channel on each diverging side adapted to receive aleg, the said U-shaped channels in each bracket facing each other,

a leg fastened pivotally in each of said U-shaped channels for movementinwardly lateral to said beam from a position adjacent the divergingside of said bracket, which side forms the bottom of said U-shapedchannel, to a position substantially perpendicular to the said beam,

each of the said leg-supporting brackets and the two legs fastenedthereto being movable, in conjunction from a folded position contiguousand parallel to the said beam to an extended position at substantiallyright angles thereto,

the legs in one leg-supporting bracket being pivoted at a point in thesaid U-shaped channels nearer the top of the bracket and closer to thebeam than the legs fastened in the other bracket,

whereby, when the sawhorse is in folded position, all four legs nesttogether in parallel and contiguous relationship with the said beam andwith each other,

2. The collapsible sawhorse of claim 1 adapted to receive a tray orshelf wherein the inside edge of each leg at about the midpoint ischaracterized by the presence of a notch and a plate fastened to saidleg below said notch, the upper end of said plate extending above thelower end of said notch.

3. The collapsible sawhorse of claim 2 in combination with a tray, saidtray comprising a shelf and side and end rails, said side and end railsbeing joined by brackets having wing portions dimensioned and angulatedto lie flush against the inside facing portions of the downwardlydiverging legs, said side rails of said tray being dimensioned to lie inthe same plane as the diverging legs and to abut said legs, said siderails carrying at each end of the bottom thereof a plate extendingbeyond the end of the side rail where it abuts said legs, said extensionhaving a downwardly turned portion, the said extension protruding intothe notch in each leg with said downwardly turned portion engaging theleg-mounted plate extending into said notch.

4. The collapsible sawhorse and tray of claim 3 wherein the wing portionof the tray brackets and the legs are drilled to receive, uponalignment, fastening means for fastening said tray-carrying brackets tosaid legs.

1. A collapsible sawhorse comprising: a horizontal beam, substantiallyU-shaped leg-supporting brackets pivotally secured to said beam at eachend thereof, each of said brackets having downwardly diverging sidesconnected by a web facing outwardly toward the beam end and inwardlyturned flanges which in conjunction with the said web delineate aU-shaped channel on each diverging side adapted to receive a leg, thesaid U-shaped channels in each bracket facing each other, a leg fastenedpivotally in each of said U-shaped channels for movement inwardlylateral to said beam from a position adjacent the diverging side of saidbracket, which side forms the bottom of said U-shaped channel, to aposition substantially perpendicular to the said beam, each of the saidleg-supporting brackets and the two legs fastened thereto being movable,in conjunction from a folded position contiguous and parallel to thesaid beam to an extended position at substantially right angles thereto,the legs in one leg-supporting bracket being pivoted at a point in thesaid U-shaped channels nearer the top of the bracket and closer to thebeam than the legs fastened in the other bracket, whereby, when thesawhorse is in folded position, all four legs nest together in paralleland contiguous relationship with the said beam and with each other, 2.The collapsible sawhorse of claim 1 adapted to receive a tray or shelfwherein the inside edge of each leg at about the midpoint ischaracterized by the presence of a notch and a plate fastened to saidleg below said notch, the upper end of said plate extending above thelower end of said notch.
 3. The collapsible sawhorse of claim 2 incombination with a tray, said tray comprising a shelf and side and endrails, said side and end rails being joined by brackets having wingportions dimensioned and angulated to lie flush against the insidefacing portions of the downwardly diverging legs, said side rails ofsaid tray being dimensioned to lie in the same plane as the diverginglegs and to abut said legs, said side rails carrying at each end of thebottom thereof a plate extending beyond the end of the side rail whereit abuts said legs, said extension having a downwardly turned portion,the said extension protruding into the notch in each leg with saiddownwardly turned portion engaging the leg-mounted plate extending intosaid notch.
 4. The collapsible sawhorse and tray of claim 3 wherein thewing portion of the tray brackets and the legs are drilled to receive,upon alignment, fastening means for fastening said tray-carryingbrackets to said legs.